Suction means to be used in a textile drafting assembly



May 20, 1958 H. THOMA 2,835,103

SUCTION MEANS TO BE USED IN A TEXTILE DRAFTING- ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 22, 195s Y [-763 WW L m SUCTION MEANS TO BE USED n: A TEXTILE DRAFTBIG ASSEMBLY Heinrich Thoma, Zurich, Switzerland Application November 22, 1955, Serial No. 548,469

6 Claims. (Cl. 57--34-.5)

The present invention relates to textile machines and more particularly to drafting assemblies which prepare ropings of wool for use in spinning machines. Such drafting assemblies form part of the entire spinning assembly and the woolen ropings pass through the drafting assemblies just before they are wound on the spindles of the spinning assemblies.

With conventional structures of the above type a great deal of lint and loose fibers and the like fall from the ropings while they move along the drafting field and not only are such materials difficult to clean away, but sometimes they get into undesirable parts of the machinery and cause great difliculties. Furthermore, when a roping breaks for any reason it undesirably clings to an adjacent roping and causes improper operation of the machine.

One of the objects of the present invention is to overcome the above drawbacks by providing in conjunction with a drafting assembly a means for removing lint and fibers and the like which drop from the ropings before such materials can cause any faulty or undesirable operation or any inconveniences by accumulating at undesirable places. I

Another object of the present invention is to prevent a roping which breaks from clinging to an adjacent roping.

A further object of the present invention is to provide structure capable of accomplishing the above objects and at the same time composed of simple and ruggedly constructed elements which are inexpensive to manufacture and which are very reliable in operation.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a partly sectional side elevational view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional, fragmentary elevational view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a different embodiment of the present invention, the structure of Fig. 3 being shown in a view similar to that of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a graph illustrating the operation of the structure of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen from Fig. 1 that the structure of the invention is used with a drafting assembly which includes a pair of delivery rolls for delivering a roping 11 shown in dot-dash lines to the drafting field. This roping 11 as it moves along the drafting field passes through a false twist whirl 12 shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, and from the latter the roping passes to the front draft rolls 13. After passing through the front draft rolls 13 the roping is received by a spindle of a conventional spinning assembly.

2,835,l3 Patented May 20, 1958 In accordance with the present invention a container 14 is connected to any suitable vacuum pump or the like so that the container 14 forms a suction chamber, and a suction tube 15 communicates with the chamber 14 and extends from the latter to a point located just behind the front rolls 13 in order to remove any loose materials from the ropings as they leave the rolls 13.

Just above the suction chamber 14- is shown a stationary table 16 onto which loose lint and fibers and the like may fall. In accordance with the present invention an additional suction tube 17 communicates with the suction chamber l and extends from the latter through the table 16 to a point located opposite the drafting field and adjacent the delivery rolls 10. Thus, any loose matter such as lint and fibers and the like which would drop from the roping 11 will be drawn into the tube 17 and will pass into the interior of the suction chamber 14. Also, if the roping 11 should break the loose end thereof issuing from the delivery rolls 10 will be drawn into the suction tube 17 and into the suction chamber 14 without disturbing the operations undesirably. 'f hen, when the operator notices that the roping has been broken he can knot together the broken roping and the operation can continue normally. Thus, with the structure of the invention a broken roping will not cling undesirably to an adjacent roping.

As is indicated fragmentarily in Fig. 2 there are a series of rolls as described above arranged in side by side relation, and Fig. 2 shows a continuous upper delivery roll 10 cooperating with a series of lower rolls 10. As is apparent from Fig. 2 a suction tube 17 is associated with each lower delivery roll 11), in the manner indicated in Fig. 1, and all of the suction tubes 17 communicate with the common suction chamber 14. This suction chamber may have any suitable filter located in its interior and connected to a suitable cover or the like which may be removed from time to time to clean out the filter.

Fig. 3 shows a variation of the invention according to which only a pair of tubes 17a and 17b communicate with the suction chamber 14. The tubes 17a and 17b communicate respectively with opposite ends of a horizontally extending tubular portion from which extend a plurality of tubes 17d. The tubes 17d are respectively located adjacent the lower delivery rolls 10 and have their inlet ends located in the same positions as the inlet ends of the tubes 17 described above. Thus, with the embodiment of Fig. 3 it is unnecessary to provide a plurality of separate fairly long suction tubes.

As is apparent from Fig. 1, the whirl 12 is in the form of a tube supported in a known Way for rotation about its axis and having at its top end a projection which engages the roping to provide a false twist in the latter, the roping passing from the delivery rolls 10 over an unillustrated deflecting rod downwardly along the interior of the whirl 12 to the front rolls 13 from where the roping passes to a spinning spindle. The whirl 12 is driven in any suitable way as by a V-belt and pulley, the latter being indicated in Fig. 1.

Thus, when a roping enters into the drafting field it is immediately subject to the tension provided between the rolls 10 and 13 as well as to the stresses resulting from the twisting provided by the whirl 12. Therefore, in the portion of the drafting field located between rolls 10 and whirl 12 each roping is subject to stresses resulting from tension plus twisting while in the portion of the drafting field between the top end of the whirl 12 and the front rolls 13 the roping is free to untwist and therefore is subject only to the drafting tension.

It will be noted that the suction tubes 17 are positioned so as to act on the ropings not only in that portion of the field where the ropings are subject to the tension resulting from drafting and twisting but also at the entrance to the drafting field where the ropings are 7 graphically illustrated in Fig. 4 where the ordinate T indicates the stresses in each roping resulting from,

drafting tension and twisting while the positions .of

rolls 10, whirl 12 and rolls 13 are indicated along the.

abscissa. 'The part of each roping which has not yet passed between the rolls 10 is subject to very little stress, and the stress before the rolls 10 is located very ,near to the abscissa of Fig. 4. Immediately upon engaging and passing through the rolls 10 each roping is suddenly subjected to the stress indicated at point A in Fig. 4. This stress is substantially uniform up until the point B of Fig. 4 where the roping is engaged by the whirl 12. After passing beyond the top end of the whirl 12 the twisting stress provided by the whirl 12 is substantially eliminated so that there is a sudden drop in stress and the roping passing from the top end of the whirl 12 to the delivery rolls 13 is at a lower stress indicated at the point C in Fig. 4. Between points B and C each roping is subject only to drafting tension. Thus, the shaded area in Fig. 4 indicates the additional stress resulting from the twisting to which each roping is subjected between the delivery rolls 19 and the whirl 12, and, as has been pointed out above, it is precisely at the entrance ,to ,the drafting field where each roping is suddenly subje t d to drafting and twisting stresses that the suctiontubes 17 are located. It is evident that this location of the suction tubes 17 enables them to accomplish the most because it is at this location that most of the breakages occur and most of the lint and other matter falls.

Thus, it will be seen that with the structure of the present invention a force of suction is applied to the textile material first just after it enters the drafting field and secondly just after it leaves the drafting field, and in this way the operations are very greatly improved with an extremely simple and efficient structure.

'It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other .types of textile machines differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in textile drafting assemblies, it is not intended to be, limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 3

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a spinning machine in combination, delivery roll means located at the entrance to a drafting field; front roll means located at the end of the drafting field; false twist means located along the drafting field intermediate said delivery roll means and said front roll means for twisting a ropingand pushing the twist back toward said delivery roll means; and suction means located adjacent that portion of the drafting field located between said delivery roll. means and said false twistmeans for .acting on ropings passing along said portion of said drafting field and for sucking a broken roping into. said suction means, and said suction means having an inlet located closely adjacent to said delivery roll means, said deliveryv roll means, front roll means, false twist means, and suction means all forming part of the spinning machine.

2. In a spinning machine in combination, delivery roll means located at the entrance to a drafting field; front roll means located at the end of the drafting field; false twist means located along the drafting field intermediate said delivery roll means and said front roll means for twisting a roping and pushing the twist back toward said delivery roll means; and suction means located adjacent that portion of the drafting field located between said delivery roll means and said false twist means for acting on ropings passing along said portion of said drafting field and for sucking a broken roping into said suction means, and said suction means including a suction tube having an inlet end located closely adjacent to said delivery roll means and a suction chamber communicating with said suction tube, said delivery roll means, front roll means, false twist means, and suction means all. forming part of the spinning machine.

3. In a spinning machine, in combination, delivery roll means located at the entrance to a drafting field; front roll means located at the end of the drafting field; false twist means located along the drafting field intermediate said delivery roll means and said front roll means for twisting a roping and pushing the twist back toward said delivery roll means; and suction means located adjacent that portion of the drafting field located between said delivery roll means and said false twist means for acting on ropings passing along said portion of said drafting field and for sucking a broken roping into said suction means, and said suction means having an inlet located closely adjacent to said delivery roll means, said inlet of said suction tube being directed upwardly and located just beneath the drafting field, said delivery roll means,

' front roll means, false twist means, and suction means all forming part of the spinning machine.

4. 'In a spinning machine, in combination, delivery roll means located at the entrance to a drafting field; front roll means located at the end of the drafting field; false twist means located along the drafting field intermediate said delivery roll means and said front roll means for twisting a roping and pushing the twist back toward said delivery ro'll means; and suction means located adjacent that portion of the drafting field located between said delivery roll means and said false twist means for acting on ropings passing along said portion of said drafting field and for sucking a broken roping into said suction means, and said suction means including a suction tube having an inlet located closely adjacent to said delivery roll means, said inlet of said suction tube being directed upwardly and located just beneath the drafting field and a suction chamber communicating with said suction tube, said delivery roll means, front roll means, false twist means, and suction means all forming part of the spinning machine.

"5. In a spinning machine, in combination, a plurality of delivery roll means located in side by side relation respectively at the entrances to a plurality of drafting fields located in side by side relation; a plurality of front roll means located in side by side relation respectivelyat the ends of said drafting fields; a plurality of false twist means located in side, by side relation respectively along said drafting fields intermediate said plurality of delivery roll means and said plurality of front roll means for twisting a purality of ropings respectively in said drafting fields and for pushing the twists back toward said plurality of delivery roll means, respectively; and elongated suction means extending in the same general direction as said plurality of delivery roll means and located adjacent those portions of the drafting fields which are between the plurality of delivery rol-l means and the plurality of false twist means for acting on ropings passing along said portions of said drafting fields and for sucking broken ropings into said suction means, and said suction means having a plurality of inlets retwist means located in side by side relation respectivelyalong said drafting fields intermediate said plurality of delivery roll means and said plurality of front roll means for twisting a plurality of ropings respectively in said drafting fields and for pushing the twists back toward said plurality of delivery roll means, respectively; elongated suction means extending in the same general direction as said plurality of delivery roll means and located adjacent those portions of the drafting fields which are between the plurality of delivery roll means and the plurality of false twist means for acting on ropings passing along said portions of said drafting fields and for sucking broken ropings into said suction means, and said suction means having a plurality of inlets respectively located closely adjacent to said plurality of delivery rol l means, all of said delivery ro'll means, front roll means, false twist means, and said suction means forming part of the spinning machine; and a plurality of suction tubes forming part of said suction means and respectively having inlet ends located respectively beyond said drafting fields closely adjacent to said plurality of front roll means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,962,265 Wenzel June 12, 1934 2,077,283 Taylor et al Apr. 13, 1937 2,708,829 Thoma May 24, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 714,090 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1954 894,821 Germany Sept. 17, 1953 

